SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (AP) — Kimi Antonelli saw off a challenge from Charles Leclerc to get back to winning ways at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday as his teammate and Formula 1 title rival George Russell failed to finish.
Antonelli started on pole but lost the lead to Leclerc when a virtual safety car slowdown allowed the Ferrari driver to save time during his pit stop.
Antonelli sped back past Leclerc with 10 laps remaining and cruised from
there to his sixth win of the season — and his F1 career — and first since last month's Monaco Grand Prix.
“Let’s go!” he told the Mercedes team over the radio. “Thank you so much, guys, thank you.”
Leclerc was second and Max Verstappen was third after briefly taking, then losing, the lead from Antonelli on the opening lap.
The Italian stretched his standings lead after Russell was left stuck in the gravel on the first lap after he was pushed into a spin by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
In a sign of tension at Mercedes after a heavy blow to his title chances, Russell seemed to blame his car, rather than Hamilton, for the incident.
Hamilton was fourth for Ferrari after an eventful race including a five-second penalty for colliding with Russell, verbal spats with Ferrari over strategy and car setups over the radio, and knocking over a Ferrari mechanic as he left the pits.
Hamilton immediately asked after the team member’s health and was told he was OK, but was still facing an investigation after the race for an “unsafe release” from the pit stop.
Lando Norris started 13th for McLaren thanks to a grid penalty but sliced through the field and even briefly led the race when others pitted. A pit stop delay dropped him back but he still finished seventh.
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